CATALYST

This is the fifteenth Mutiny in Jonestown studio album. While sitting down to begin writing an album in 2001 it was nearly impossible not to let the events of 9/11 creep in to the writing process, and this album is no exception. The album opener, "World of Sleep" was actually written pre 9/11. It describes the life of one who prefers sleep to the waking world and the people he can no longer relate to or connect with. The strange vocal style, the lyrics and ending slide guitar solo are all meant to portray a half awake dream state with one foot in the real world, the other in the world of sleep and a person who just can't decide which world is worth living in. This is the only song on this album to be available on a compilation album. In this case, it appears as the last song on the 'Anthology II 1993 - 2002' album available on BandCamp.

The next piece is a 38 minute multi part suite that attempts to give a fictional variation on the 9/11 tragedy. The piece is built around the story of a man who's spent his entire life in a suicidal state. He wishes to end his life, but is too afraid to do the deed by his own hand. He begins having dreams that direct him to places where the violent actions of others will bring the grim reaper to find and take him, thus keeping his soul unstained from the act of suicide. He follows his dreams to these locations (London 1941, Mai Lai South Vietnam 1968, Oklahoma City 1995) and while all locations experience the ravages of war and violence all around him, he is somehow spared. He now questions whether his dreams are leading him to where violence will take his life, or is he the catalyst that brings violence to these locations with his presence? Finally his dreams lead him to New York City on 9/11. The twin towers are ablaze and he finds himself trapped. He decides rather than be consumed by the flames, he will take the leap to his death even if it means tarnishing his soul. He breaks the window and jumps but instead of hard concrete and the death he seeks, he lands on an escaping priest instantly killing him. He then awakes to discover the entire series of events has been simply a dream.

The song "Catalyst" also features many instrumental and lyrical themes that return throughout the piece to tie it together both conceptually and musically. This is the only large scale concept piece the band ever did not directly related to an HP Lovecraft story which makes it unique in the Mutiny in Jonestown discography. I believe both tracks on this album are closely related and the entire work could be considered a concept album. The state of mind of the main character in "World of Sleep" isn't far from that of the main character in "Catalyst" as the compulsion to escape the waking world by constant sleep is a metaphor for escaping the waking world by suicide. Of course, one is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, but both are escapes nonetheless.

This is a hard album for me to rate for several reasons. I can see it as both a 3 or 4 star depending on the state of mind of the listener, and whether they connect to the main character and his state of mind. I'm going to put it as a 3 as it's never been one of my favorite Mutiny in Jonestown albums, but I can see others not so close to the project and the concept rating it higher.